The Duelist Nine Saga
by DiamondClaw
Summary: A hundred years after the legend of Yugi Mutou was written in the history books, the man has become myth and the game has fallen into neglect. Now, one young boy must unravel the game once more to save the world...


Duelist Nine  
By DiamondClaw

rallyvguyATgunsmithcatsDOTcom

Prologue

Yugi Mutou.

A name that was synonymous with the safety of the world. A name that symbolized all that was good and pure in humanity. A name that one might think would echo throughout the halls of history for all eternity.

But this was not the case.

Shortly after Yugi's decisive victory against Zorc Necrophades, the popularity of Duel Monsters hit its peak. Spin-offs were derived left and right, played by many, enjoyed by some; yet, nothing could seem to ignite the fun that was once had by those who played the game. Days turned to months, months to years, and with them, the game faded, as did the memories of those which once threatened the sanctity of our world. The truest of ironies, it was – the game that decided the fates of many for thousands of years now suffered its own demise at the hands of popular opinion.

A hundred years passed. The game was now nothing more than a passing memory in history; the cards fell into neglect and abandon; the rules were forgotten; and perhaps saddest of all, the name of the legendary hero who saved our world time and time again was lost to all but the brightest of memories. A young boy who was once heralded as a living legend was now nothing more than a myth, spoken of only in the words of storytellers and children's faerie tales.

But then, history has a way of repeating itself…

Chapter One

Those Who Burn the Candles of Vigilance

_To whomever this letter may concern:_

_I hope this message finds you in good health, chosen one. We of the Void Clan have sent this communiqué to you because we have reason to strongly believe that you are one of the few remaining that have knowledge of the sacred and lost art of dueling. Here at the Void Clan, we strive to resurrect that art in the hopes that one day, it might be enjoyed by all. If you are interested in taking up our cause, please join us at Triumphe Station Hall at three-o'clock next Thursday, the 29th. Be aware, however, that we expect a certain skill level of our members, and thusly, you will be tested._

_I look forward to seeing you there,_

_M.C._

"What is this junk?"

"I don't know, but it looks awfully suspicious…"

"M.C.? You're right, that's really creepy…"

"HEY!" The single voice broke the clamoring of the others. A young boy no more than sixteen years of age and six feet of height stormed into the kitchen, rattling the loose cookware as he did. His pale-green hair (dyed, of course) and stout frame immediately stood him out from the others. "Mom! Whaddaya think you're doing, reading MY mail?"

"Now, Kazu, you're only sixteen. As long as you live under my roof, I have the authority to read whatever I want, no matter who it belongs to." His mother gave him a stern gaze as she continued to interrogate him. "Who are these people? What do they want with you? And what's this 'dueling' they're talking about? It better not be anything dangerous!"

"I have no idea, I have no idea, and you have no idea, in that order," he retorted. "Mom, seriously. I love you, but this has got to stop. I don't read your mail, and you shouldn't read mine." He took the letter out of her hands and went upstairs.

A "My word, Julia. That boy just doesn't listen to you, does he?" and a "My son is much more refined and polite!" soon followed from her friends. She calmly replied, "If only his father were here, he wouldn't be so rude…"

o

**K**azu read through the letter in the silence of his room. "The Void Clan, at last. I knew that learning how to duel would pay off some day. It's just a shame that Granddad isn't here to see this day come." He stood up, waded through the artificial muck of his room to his walk-in closet and took the shoebox out from beneath the other unorganized memories of his childhood. He set the box upon the desk and removed the cards that once belonged to his grandfather, along with the sentimental message that lay with them.

"_Dear Kazu,_

_These cards are from a game called Duel Monsters. It was really popular back when I was a child! I know how fond you are of games, so I thought you might like them. I even played a bit back when I was a child, so if you want, I can teach you how. I think you'd enjoy it! _

_Love,_

_Grandpa"_

"Gramps…" Kazu held the cards in his hands and sighed deeply. "I'll make you proud, I promise…"

o

**T**he 10:15 train from Arc Commons left just as scheduled, with stops in Main Square, West End, and lastly, Triumphe Station. The hours-long train ride gave Kazu a lot of time to reflect on his deck, his strategies, and most importantly, his life. His birth mother died after giving birth to him; his father remarried to Julia and then disappeared, leaving her to raise this child all alone, something she really wasn't prepared for. And it showed. He grew up rebellious, foul-mouthed, and got just-below-average grades in school. He had few friends and kept to himself for the most part, but dueling was the one thing that allowed him to escape all that. The problem was, of course, that hardly anyone knew what dueling was, creating a lack of competition in the process. Luckily, Kazu happened to stumble across an archaic computer disk that contained an AI-driven dueling program, something he used to hone his skills most every day. Even then, artificial intelligence can only take one so far, so Kazu actively sought out duelists, coming in contact with a messenger of the Void Group one day, which led up to this moment.

"Excuse me, son." A man tapped Kazu on the shoulder. "But what are those cards you're holding? They're strange-looking." Kazu snapped back almost as if he took offense to that comment. "They're dueling cards!" He shouted this loud enough for the entire car to hear. Several gasps and murmurs followed. Embarrassed, Kazu turned around and sunk into the seat he was sitting on. "Just shut up," he thought to himself, "and everyone will leave you alone."

"Next stop, Triumphe Station. All passengers wishing to depart, please move to the rear doors. That is all, and thank you for riding Arc Lines." Kazu got up and began to move to the back, noticing that only a few others followed him. One person in particular, a young boy with spiked blue hair and an odd-looking bandana around his head, caught Kazu's eye. What intrigued him even more were the cards holstered on his side. "So, he's a duelist too. I wonder if he's trying out for the Void Group?" He thought to himself as he stepped off of the train and out into the station. Almost as soon as he emerged, a figure in a long black cloak approached him, nearly scaring him.

"Are you here for the Void Group?" the man asked, and Kazu nodded in reply. "Follow me, then." The man started off for a small building nestled between the station and another large building. "Go in." Kazu entered the building, only to find himself in complete darkness. "Gah!" Kazu felt his way to a nearby wall and slumped against it. Suddenly, a spotlight shone out of seemingly nowhere, aimed directly at him. "Your name." a voice demanded.

"Tozuna Kazu.."

"Your purpose."

"I've come to try out for the Void Group."

"One final question. Are you prepared to eat, sleep, and breathe dueling? Can you forsake your previous life in favor of a spot here with us?"

After hesitation, Kazu answered. "I…can."

"Then let the duel commence!"

The lights flashed on to reveal a dueling ground. - a large, arena-style setting, with two raised pedestals on either side for the duelists to stand upon. One of them was empty, and the person on the other was…

"You! You're that boy I saw on the train earlier!" Kazu exclaimed.

"You can call me Hitoshi…that is, until I defeat you. Then you can call me your superior." He replied. "Now, let's get this duel on."

"What a jerk! He reminds me of…of…myself." Kazu shuddered a bit, and climbed up to the empty platform. The voice came over the loudspeaker again:

"This will be a one-round duel with four thousand life points. The winner shall be allowed entrance into the Void Group. The loser…is sentenced to a Penalty Game. Hitoshi shall take the first turn. Now…DUEL!" Both players drew their cards.

"Oh, this will be quite easy." Hitoshi smirked. "I open with the monster card Envoy of the Warlord, in attack position!" A huge warrior appeared on Hitoshi's side of the field, wielding a large double-edged blade and a shield encompassing half of its body. Its face was shrouded inside its helmet, revealing only a pair of piercing yellow eyes.

"What's that card?" Kazu said, looking a little puzzled and confused. Hitoshi replied with a chuckle. "I see that you're unfamiliar with these cards. You see, though Duel Monsters went dead years ago, underground groups have been manufacturing cards unofficially. And, seeing as how there aren't any "official" rules, these cards are perfectly legal for play. Not that it matters. If you don't even know that, you're a sitting duck! This is going to be easier than I thought! Now, I end my turn. Your move, newbie."

Kazu looked down at the display before him. "He's got 1800 attack, but 2200 defense. Why did Hitoshi put him in attack mode on the first turn?" He shook his head and turned to his hand. "Here we go. I summon the Gemini Elf, in attack mode!" Out of the ground rose the twin elves, looking as deadly as they did seductive. Hitoshi wasn't fazed in the least. "Now, Gemini Elf, attack! Twin Fury Blast!" The elves began their attack.

"Hold it right there!" Hitoshi yelled. "I activate Envoy of the Warlord's special effect! Once per turn, he can shift himself temporarily into defense position when an opponent declares an attack!"

The elves fired their shot, full-blast. The warrior raised his shield and deflected it back easily. "But that's not all, Kazu. You see, if you take damage as a result of this effect, the monster that declared the attack is destroyed along with your life points!" The blast arced around and struck the elves, destroying them. It then headed straight for Kazu, hitting him square in the chest. "That's three hundred down, 3700 to go. Of course, at this rate, it shouldn't be too hard for a duelist of MY skill…" He cackled confidently.

"Damn!" Kazu's head raced. He'd never heard of these "unofficial" cards' existence, or many of the other cards for that matter. The only ones he knew of were the ones that were installed in the AI program, and the ones his grandfather gave him. Dazed, Kazu continued. "I lay two cards face-down and end my turn."

Hitoshi drew. "I activate the spell card The Demon's Embrace! This card allows me to sacrifice one Envoy of the Warlord on the field to summon one of these from my deck! Rise, Envoy of Hell's Warriors!" The ground began to rumble violently, then opened up its maw, accompanied by a noise similar to that of groaning metal. Out of the crevice rose up a warrior similar to the one on the field before, except that its features were much more muscular, its sword was much larger, and its helmet had broken away to reveal a gruesome skull face, complete with the same yellow gaze. Kazu glared down at the display. "2700 attack? You've got to be kidding me!"

"Oh, it's no joke, as you'll soon see. Envoy! Attack with Thousand Inferno!" The warrior dashed at Kazu and leapt high into the air, sword extended.

"I activate the trap card Negate Attack! This'll send your warrior back empty-handed!" An invisible barrier met with the Envoy's sword, rendering his attack useless.

"So," Hitoshi bellowed, "you saved yourself once. No guarantee it'll happen again. I end my turn, and take one more step to your defeat!"

Kazu drew his card, and then assessed his options. An idea soon came to him.

"I summon Cat's Ear Tribe in attack mode!' A group of cuddly kittens materialized onto the field. Hitoshi threw his head back and laughed. "It looks like you've gotten so desperate that you're sending kittens to fight my warrior from Hell. It's comical, really."

"Keep laughing, Hitoshi. I activate the spell card Heart of Clear Water! It prevents my Cat's Ear Tribe from being destroyed as a result of battle, or by any effects that designate it as a target. I'll also place one more card face-down, and end my turn."

Hitoshi drew his next card. "Ha! This card will seal your doom. I activate the spell card Demon's Bloodlust! By paying 1000 life points, the original attack points of my Envoy of Hell's Warriors will become 5400! Your kittens can't save you now, Kazu. This is it – my victory, the begin of my glorious ascent, and your death!"

"Death?" Kazu said, looking flushed. "Who said anything about death?"

"You fool, you heard the man. The loser of this duel is subjected to a Penalty Game. I'll admit, you may not die, but you WILL lose something dear to you, and let's face it, what's the point of living then? But enough chat. Envoy, attack Cat's Ear Tribe!"

"Stop! I activate the trap card Life Transfer! This card allows me to transfer any amount of my life points to the attack of the monster of my choice. I choose Cat's Ear Tribe, and pay exactly 1099 life points, just enough to stay under the condition of Heart of Clear Water."

"So, big deal. You still don't have enough life points to survive this attack! Now, Envoy, Thousand Inferno!" The warrior rushed towards the kittens and once again leapt into the air, the flames of hell gathering around the blade.

"You forgot about Cat's Ear Tribe's special effect, Hitoshi. During the damage step of your turn, any monster that attacks this card has its attack reduced to 200!"

"What?" The warrior slowed to a crawl as he descended, and the cats took the opportunity to viciously maul it in retaliation.

"But that's not all, Hitoshi. I activate my last trap card, Triple Tribulation! This combo won my grandfather a lot of duels in his day, and now it wins this one! This card triples the amount of any damage done to my opponent by themselves during their turn, making it well over the 3000 damage required to bring you to zero! I win."

Hiroshi wailed. "What? NO! This can't be right! I lost to you? Imthinkable! Unpossible!" He slumped to his knees, tears running down his face. "And now…I pay the price."

"The winner of this duel is Tozuna Kazu. And the loser…is worthless! By the laws of the shadows, begone!" A titanic hole appeared beneath the pedestal that Hiroshi stood upon, and out of the abyss rose a gigantic snake, fangs bared in eager anticipation.

"No, please! Spare me…spare me! Spare meeeee….!"

And that was the end.

"Wh…what happened to him?" Kazu shouted.

"You heard him. He knew the price of losing this duel – his life. And now that you've seen first-hand the severity of losing a duel, you too are honor-bound to take part in the Void Group. You, Kazu, the ninth member of the Duelist Nine."

"Duelist Nine? What?"

"The Void Group is composed of three sub-groups: the Administrators, the Watchers – and the Duelist Nine, the nine duelists of our group. Those who fight for our honor, our purpose, and our souls."

"Okay, this is getting creepy…I don't think I want to be here anymore." Kazu climbed down the platform and started towards the door. But, oddly enough, it wasn't there anymore.

"You have no right to refuse. The laws of the shadows state that he who bears witness to a Penalty Game is bound by honor to become a duelist. You have already committed this transgression. Therefore, you are a duelist. Refuse, and forfeit your soul to the darkness."

"Alright, I get it, I get it…just…where do I go now?"

A staircase opened up in the middle of the arena. "Enter, and embrace your new life, Tozuna Kazu…"

-Chapter 1 End.-

(Author's note: This is, as you can see, almost entirely an original character fic, so keep that in mind if you decide to criticize. I welcome all comments, either by review or e-mail, as the lifeblood of creative writing is the opinion of others. I hope you've enjoyed this, and Chapter 2 will hopefully be done soon. Ciao!)

-Chapter 1 Card Glossary-

( )Envoy of Warlord: Level 4 Warrior/Earth, 1800 attack/2200 defense: (effect) During your opponent's turn, this card can be shifted into Defense Position during the Battle Step of one attack. If your opponent receives deflected damage as a result of this effect, the attacking monster is destroyed.

Gemini Elf: Level 4 Spellcaster/Earth, 1900 attack/900 defense: Elf twins that alternate their attacks.

( )The Demon's Embrace: Spell: Tribute one Envoy of Warlord on your side of the field. Special Summon one "Envoy of Hell's Warriors" from your hand or Deck.

( )Envoy of Hell's Warriors: Level 8 Warrior/Fire, 2700 attack/2500 defense: When the Warlord's soldiers are exposed to the essence of The Demon, this ghastly warrior is the end result. He tears the battlefield asunder with his wicked sword.

Negate Attack: Trap/Counter: When your opponent attacks with a monster, negate the attack and make your opponent's Battle Phase end.

Cat's Ear Tribe: Level 1 Beast-Warrior/Earth, 200 attack/100 defense: (effect): During the Damage Steps of your opponent's turn, the original attack of your opponent's monsters that attack this card become 200 points.

( )Demon's Bloodlust: Spell/Equip: You may only equip this card to "Envoy of Hell's Warriors". Pay 1000 Life Points to activate this card. The original attack of the equipped monster becomes 5400. The controller of this card takes 700 points of damage at each of his/her End Phases.

( )Life Transfer: Trap/Counter: You can only activate this card when your opponent declares an attack. Pay any amount of your life points up to 1500 to increase the attack of one monster by that same amount until the end of the turn.

( )Triple Tribulation: Trap: You can only activate this card when your opponent takes damage to their life points caused by an attack that they declared. Triple the damage to your opponent's life points.

( ) prior to the card name denotes an original card.

-Legal-

This fic was penned July 2nd, 2006 by DiamondClaw. Yu-Gi-Oh! is © 1996 Kazuki Takahashi. I do not own the rights to this series, its characters, or anything related to it. This fic is for personal enjoyment only, and is not to be used for profit of any kind.


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